NEWSLETTER
First, allow me to say I hear your cries for Mitch Trubisky to take over for Mike Glennon. Actually, I don’t just hear them, I echo them.
I’d also like to add that I understand your growing frustration watching a player who’s regressed each week since the team’s season-opener against the Atlanta Falcons. I see your tweets, read your messages, and I’m suffering with you in these dark hours.
But with all that said, the middle of Thursday’s blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers was NOT the right time for the rookie quarterback to make his Chicago Bears debut.
Head coach John Fox took a lot of heat for coaching decisions that were made in the lopsided loss yesterday (rightfully, I might add), but one thing he got right was keeping Trubisky saddled to the bench late in the game rather than throwing him to the wolves in garbage time.
“If you watched the game,” Fox explained. “I don’t think it was an ideal time to put him in.”
In case you missed it, things became quite chippy between the Bears and Packers as the game dragged through the night. And things hit a fever pitch when Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan knocked out Packers receiver Davante Adams with a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit that resulted in Adams being carted off on a stretcher. Early reports regarding Adams were positive, according to Packers head coach Mike McCarthy.
You can check out the hit here.
Glennon played all 68 offensive snaps on Thursday, but took a few late hits from Clay Matthews – including one that was called a penalty. At that point in the game, there was no purpose in risking a Trubisky injury in a low-leverage situation, on a sloppy field, in a game that was out of hand on the scoreboard, with emotions running high.
Trubisky’s time will come, but the rookie deserves a clean slate and not to be thrust into action in that particular situation.
Last week, Trubisky talked about his learning curve and described it as “a lot more complex than people think.” There is a non-zero chance Trubisky is behind on learning the playbook. Chicago’s offensive coaching staff could also have minimal faith in his surroundings keeping him upright for the remainder of the season. These are things we might not want to take into consideration regarding Trubisky’s development, but probably should.
The Bears are in a complicated place when it comes to Trubisky’s development. He is undoubtedly the most athletically gifted quarterback on the roster, showing off mobility, arm strength, and accuracy during the preseason. But there is a fine line between being better than the starter in-house and ready to lead an offense.
Luckily for Fox and the other decision-makers at Halas Hall, there are 11 days between games to make the call at quarterback.
